


Moonlighting

by sabinelagrande



Category: Gyakuten Saiban | Ace Attorney
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Comedy of Errors, Humor, M/M, Prostitution
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-10-26
Updated: 2007-10-26
Packaged: 2017-10-14 10:58:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/148513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sabinelagrande/pseuds/sabinelagrande
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I didn't think, 'By the way, don't accidentally become a prostitute,' was something I really needed to say to you, but you have proven me wrong."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It wasn't the sort of place Miles Edgeworth went willingly. It wasn't his reputation he was worried about, really; the place kept up a very respectable front. It was more his dignity that was offended.

But, a colleague who fancied himself a friend had bent over backwards to get the reservation, and he'd insisted that it would be right up Edgeworth's alley. Insisted, in fact, in such a way that he was left with the distinct impression that any refusal to share in this generous offer would have distinct consequences. And since Edgeworth had decided it wasn't such a good idea for the general public to know what he liked up his alley, he had accepted.

He shifted uneasily in his chair, avoiding the gaze of the very attractive man sitting at the end of the bar. His colleague was already enjoying the attention of a slight, brown-haired boy who didn't look a day over eighteen. The whole operation made him sick, and he wanted nothing more than to call Criminal Affairs and have the whole place shut down.

The fact that it also made him ridiculously hot really didn't help matters.

After a few minutes of this show, Edgeworth excused himself, shrugging off not one, but four solicitations on his way to the bathroom. He never actually made it there, unfortunately, as he was clipped by a clumsy waiter and thrown right into one of the staff. He muttered an apology, not looking at the man's face.

"Edgeworth?" the man asked, in a voice that was entirely too familiar.

He took a long moment before looking up, inspecting his suit and inventing several new obscenities. It was useless, however, because he still found himself face to face with Phoenix Wright, who looked impossibly pleased to see him.

"Are you feeling all right?" Phoenix asked, concerned. "You look pale."

"Wright, what are you doing here?" Edgeworth snapped.

"This is my night job," he replied, a little embarrassed. "I guess I should have told you-"

" _What_?" Edgeworth managed to stammer, before lapsing back into silent, angry syllables. "You're coming with me," he said finally, taking Phoenix by the arm.

"Sounds like fun," a slender man at a nearby table told Phoenix, winking. Edgeworth's angry glare entirely failed to intimidate him. "We won't wait up."

"Tell Felix I'll only be a couple of minutes," Phoenix said over his shoulder as he was pulled away.

The sight of Edgeworth dragging Phoenix across the room attracted far less attention than it would have anywhere else. The most they garnered was a catcall from a far corner and a toast from Edgeworth's colleague. It wasn't an entirely smooth escape, however, as Edgeworth was met at the door by a very large man in a black t-shirt.

"You know the rules," the man said levelly, crossing his massive arms.

"I can have the chief of police here in ten minutes," Edgeworth threatened, narrowing his eyes.

He shrugged. "Then he can let you out."

Exasperated, Edgeworth reached for his wallet, pulling out a few bills at random and shoving them at the bouncer. He looked them over, then stepped out of the way. "Pleasure doing business with you. See ya later, Nicky."

"What's going on?" Phoenix asked as Edgeworth dragged him through the parking lot.

"Get in the car, Wright," he replied, opening Phoenix's door and practically pushing him in. Edgeworth climbed into the driver's seat, ignoring Phoenix's questions as he peeled out of the parking lot.

"What were you doing in there?" Edgeworth barked at him when they were a good distance away from the club.

"I was at my night job, which you would have known if you'd actually listened to me," Phoenix muttered, looking out the window. "I haven't had many cases lately."

"What are you talking about? You've had three cases in the last month."

"They couldn't pay."

"Couldn't or didn't?"

"Yes," he replied evasively.

"Wright, I know you're not a defense attorney for the money, but it is perfectly fine to _take_ the money." Edgeworth sighed. "Why couldn't you at least get a respectable job?"

"They pay twice as much as anywhere else, and you can set your own hours," Phoenix told him defensively. "It's a very nice club."

Edgeworth tightened his grip on the steering wheel and tried not to run off the road. "Nice? How can you even say that?"

"Well, they've got big dressing rooms and brand new carpeting, and employees eat for free. What's not nice about that?"

"I'm not talking about the amenities." A thought dawned upon him. "What kind of job did they offer you?"

"The ad said they were looking for entertainers," Phoenix said, sounding a little hurt. "I'm entertaining."

Edgeworth held the bridge of his nose and counted to ten under his breath. "And I expect that they explained to you how you're supposed to keep the visitors company, or something like that?" Phoenix nodded. "Did it occur to you at any point to ask what they meant by company?"

"No," he replied, sounding unsure. "They said we might be asked to escort some of the-" Edgeworth watched as the information hit Phoenix, who looked as if his eyes might pop out of his head at any moment. "They were gonna-"

"Yes."

"In the-"

"Yes!"

Phoenix gaped for a few minutes, trying to process this. "It all makes so much more sense now," he said finally. "I wish someone had warned me."

"I didn't think, 'By the way, don't accidentally become a prostitute,' was something I really needed to say to you, but you have proven me wrong."

Phoenix turned to face Edgeworth, giving him a worried look. "Why were you there?"

Edgeworth could feel a hot blush spreading over his cheeks. "It's a long story."

"It's a long way to my apartment," Phoenix pointed out.

"By 'it's a long story,' I meant, 'it's a story I don't want to explain,'" he replied, keeping his eyes on the road.

"I did know what kind of club it was when I started," Phoenix said, earning him a raised eyebrow. "I didn't know they did _that_ there, but I knew what kind of people went there."

"Well, then I guess you know why I was there," Edgeworth muttered.

Phoenix shook his head. "You wouldn't possibly go to a place like that without a good reason."

He sighed. "I was there because I am an idiot who is far too concerned about saving his own neck." The other man gave him a confused look. "I wasn't there to pick someone up. I was," he smiled mirthlessly, "window shopping."

They sat in awkward silence for a few moments. Edgeworth raked his hand through his hair, trying not to look at his passenger.

"I didn't realize you were-" Phoenix's voice trailed off. "Not that- I mean- That is-"

He rolled his eyes. "I wonder if they'd give me a percentage if I brought you back."

"That didn't come out right."

"You think?"

They lapsed back into silence, which lasted until Edgeworth parked in front of Phoenix's apartment building.

"Thank you for coming to my rescue," Phoenix said quietly, unbuckling his seatbelt.

Edgeworth pursed his lips. "Just be glad I went to the bank today. Otherwise I would have had to put you on layaway."

There was a very long pause. So long, in fact, that Edgeworth was on the point of asking if Phoenix had forgotten how to operate a door. But before he could speak, Phoenix was sliding over. He kissed Edgeworth quickly and timidly on the lips before retreating back to his seat.

"How long have you been waiting to do that?" Edgeworth asked, for lack of anything else to say.

"About four red lights," Phoenix replied, exhaling.

He sighed. "If I kiss you, will you stop making that ridiculous puppy-dog face?"

Phoenix pouted just the slightest bit. "Maybe."

Edgeworth rolled his eyes upward, but unfastened his seatbelt. He pulled Phoenix toward him, kissing him like he'd been intending to for longer than he cared to admit. It went on for some minutes, only to be reluctantly stopped because Phoenix kept getting tangled around the gearshift.

"Do you want to, um," Phoenix started. "Do you want to come inside?"

Edgeworth thought about this for some moments before throwing up his hands. "Might as well get my money's worth."


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Miles Edgeworth and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

It was times like these that Miles Edgeworth wished that he had a nice, reliable bad habit. He would have liked nothing more than to light up a cigarette or take a shot of whiskey, something manly and serious that would succinctly show his inner turmoil while giving him something to do with his hands. Unfortunately, tobacco made him nauseous, and his flask ruined the line of his suit; so he settled, like always, on a hot cup of tea.

He untangled himself from Phoenix gingerly and crept out of the bedroom. The kitchen was cleaner than he had expected, though the thin layer of dust on the stove said volumes about Phoenix's eating habits. Fumbling around, he quickly found, as expected, that there was no kettle, no tea pot, no tea ball or strainer, and no milk. He did find a faded box of earl grey, stashed behind what looked to be a year's supply of peanut butter, and a chipped coffee mug reading "World's Greatest Dad." He sighed and decided to cut his losses. Microwaved tea was marginally better than nothing.

Edgeworth made a mental note to bring his extra kettle over for situations like this. He thought that there was nothing more distressing than waking up every morning to bad tea. But then he realized he was wrong: nothing was more distressing than the fact that he was seriously considering waking up at Phoenix's apartment every morning.

His thoughts were mercifully interrupted by Phoenix, who padded into the kitchen looking a little bit like the cat who got the canary. "Morning," he yawned, stretching.

"Morning," he answered gruffly, turning back to the microwave to retrieve his cup. Phoenix apparently saw this as an open invitation, wrapping his arms around Edgeworth's waist and pulling him close. "Wright, what are you doing?"

"I thought it was pretty obvious," Phoenix replied, positively nuzzling his neck. "I thought since we didn't-"

"We can't," he said flatly, moving out of his reach.

Phoenix practically deflated. "You don't want to?"

"It has nothing to do with that," Edgeworth snapped. "Did they teach you nothing about conflicts of interest in law school?"

The other man looked somewhat relieved. "There are plenty of ways around that-"

"All of which mean the cases we've been on together can be reopened." He sighed. "It's too risky. We should stop before we-" the words died on his lips, because Phoenix wouldn't stop looking at him like Edgeworth had just shot his dog. Sighing, he pulled Phoenix in for a kiss- anything to get that awful look off his face. "Come by tonight, and we'll talk about it. I have to go to work."

He finally left Phoenix's apartment some twenty minutes later, mostly owing to the fact that he and Phoenix had mysteriously lost the ability to keep their hands off one another. It was a troublesome phenomenon; had he, up until yesterday, been in incredibly deep denial about the fact that he wanted to tear Phoenix's clothing off, or was this a brand new development? And was that all that he wanted? He refused to even consider the other party's thoughts on the subject or the legal ramifications of the whole thing; otherwise, he might have run right off the road.

Edgeworth was on the point of turning back towards his house when he noticed the time. Sighing, he turned toward the Prosecutors' Office instead, hoping his spare suit was still in the trunk.

And he still hadn't had any tea.

\--

It was a mercifully slow day in the Prosecutors' Office. His current case, a textbook example of grand theft auto, finished quickly after an unexpected guilty plea. No one from the Criminal Affairs Department seemed to need him- Edgeworth heard something about a raid being planned, but another prosecutor was handling it- so he spent most of the day wrapping up odd bits of paperwork and filing.

At five, he called it a day, locking up his office and heading down to the parking garage. By five thirty, he was pulling into his driveway. Pess got his nightly walk at five forty-five, and Edgeworth got a well deserved shower when they got back. After that, it was time to start dinner. After some consideration, he doubled his recipe, telling himself it wasn't in case Phoenix hadn't eaten. At seven, Edgeworth ate by himself, wrapping up the leftovers and stashing them in the refrigerator.

Seven forty-five found him sitting at the edge of the couch reading, but by eight he realized that he had read the same page six times. At eight thirty, he gave up and called Phoenix's cell phone; it rang and rang, but there was no answer.

At nine, he was worried; by nine thirty, he was upset; upon the stroke of ten, he swore loudly and threw his book at the wall. At ten thirty, he stomped off to bed; at ten thirty-five, the phone rang.

"What?" Edgeworth snapped into the receiver.

A crisp, pre-recorded voice came on the line. "You have a collect call from-" "Um, Phoenix Wright?" "-an inmate at the Los Angeles County Detention Center. Will you accept charges?"


End file.
